Reckless Abandonment

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When my children were growing up, I wanted them to LISTEN when I instructed them to do something and then OBEY.  Simple as that.  But it never was simple.  It seemed there was always an excuse . . .

 “I didn’t hear you.”  I forgot.” “I’m going to do it, I just haven’t had time.”  “I’ll get to it soon . . ."

As I write these words, I feel them echo deep in the halls of time in my own life as I’ve responded to my Heavenly Father’s promptings and commands.  How slow I’ve been to respond and how quick to give an excuse.  I dawdle and procrastinate, question if it was really from God or just my vain imagination and generally fail to do what God is calling me to.

This summer I decided I was done arguing, procrastinating and questioning.  When I sensed God prompting, I was just going to plain DO it.  No hemming and hawing, no dillydallying just plain old-fashioned obedience.  It’s been an amazing, crazy, and life-altering ride!

I’ve done things I’ve never dreamed I would do and I’ve loved every moment.  I’ve given a fifty dollar tip to a stressed waitress.  I’ve begun walking around our church building at all times of the day and night praying out loud with a passion and a purpose.  I’ve stood up in a service when those around me stayed sitting, so completely moved by a song of worship that I couldn’t stay seated any longer.   And just last night, while at a worship service, I felt God calling me to take off my shoes because I was standing on holy ground – so I did!

Why have I wasted so much TIME, so much ADVENTURE, and so much LIVING, debating whether my promptings are really from God or not?  Seriously, would my sinful self tell me to give up fifty dollars of my hard earned cash to a complete stranger?  Would my natural desire be to embarrass myself and do something that no one else is doing?

 

That would be a big NO.  So why do I question and wonder if it’s really God calling me? 

If I want to face the truth it’s not really because I wonder if these promptings are from God or myself, it’s really about whether I want to obey or not.

I have allowed doubt and fear to keep me from living an all-out reckless abandoned life for God. BUT I refuse to live that way anymore!  I'm done with safe, boring, predictable.  I want more!

I’m listening with heart wide-open, waiting expectantly, responding immediately.  The next adventure is just around the corner and I can’t wait!

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other.  Act on what you hear! 

                                                                                           (James 1.22 MSG)

On Top of the World

You formed the mountains by Your power and armed Yourself with mighty strength.
Psalm 65.6

 

 

This past week my family and I spent our summer vacation in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  The highlands have always held a special place in my heart and I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be. I spent the early years of my life surrounded by mountain peaks dotted with white horned sheep in the beautiful state of Alaska, so for me when I’m surrounded by mountains it feels as if I’ve come home.

 

This last week, my husband and I did a "black diamond" hike up Shrine Mountain Pass. Having not made getting in shape a priority, combined with the high elevation, and no food in our pack, we were in for a difficult and challenging hike. There were many times when I wanted to throw in the towel, give up, turn around and not look back but whether it was just plain stubbornness or the promise of the spectacular vistas that lay just up ahead that kept me pressing on, I’m not sure.  But nonetheless, I kept putting one foot in front of the other.

 

We hiked past fields of wild flowers, craggy rocks, a trickling brook and windswept trees on our climb to the top.  The trail was narrow, with jagged roots and rocks making the way hazardous to our health if we weren’t careful.  Always with the promise that the end was just around the corner. 

 


FINALLY, we reached the top.  I dragged myself up the last few steps and collapsed on the rocky ground.  The view was all that I had hoped it would be.

 

Spectacular. Breathtaking. Incredible.

 

I gazed up at the sky and listened to the desolate sound of the wind as it gusted and whipped around me.  My husband had left to climb the final crest and I was alone with my Maker on top of the world.  

 

In reflecting back on that hike, I can’t help but realize how much life is like that trek in so many ways.  Isn’t our journey really made up of mountain top experiences with deep valleys in between?  Most of our time is spent walking through the valley and traversing the narrow paths on our way to the top.  Once we reach the top, we enjoy it for a few quick wonderful moments and then we must start down once again.

 

Life has its rugged paths; the disappointments, the unexpected news, unanswered prayers that can so easily trip us up and cause us to take our eyes off of the goal. Scattered in between are those moments when we get a little glimpse of heaven on earth. Then difficulties and struggles come agin and we want to give up – life is too hard.  It's all to easy to throw in the towel and surrender to the pain and exhaustion of the trail.  

 

But remember, there is Beauty along the way, Joy in the journey, and Hope in what is yet to come.

 

Psalm 37.34a (NLT) says, “Put your hope in the LORD and travel steadily along His path.”  

Some day we will reach our TRUE SUMMIT and life will BE A MOUNTAIN TOP  EXISTENCE not a momentary experience!  So Press on!  Don’t give up!  Heaven is right around the bend!

Selah Moments

 

Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You
maybe found . . . You are my hiding place. You preserve me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. Psalm 32.6-7

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What is worship?  How do we worship a God we cannot see?  Is worship just when we’re singing praise songs to God?

A discussion for the ages, I know.  But I’m not letting that stop me from sharing with you something I’ve come to understand this summer through my perusal of the Psalms.  This isn’t meant to be a "BE ALL, END ALL" discussion on worship but a starting point that just might get you thinking, talking, discussing – which is always good!

There is a very small word in the Psalms that crops up all over the place.  It’s the word, “Selah”.  In some translations it’s interpreted as, “Interlude”.  I was reminded of a long ago sermon when the pastor explained that Selah was there to remind us to, “pause and think about what we had just read.”

Remembering that Psalms are songs I wondered what those Selah Moments, those musical interludes, must have been like for the Israelites as they were singing those songs.  And then, I thought about the praise and worship times at my church and I realized we have Selah Moments as well.  Those times when the band plays a musical interlude and I am silent. 

I confess, I’ve often wondered why they play those interludes.  Am I supposed to be impressesd?  Is this just a time to admire the skill of those who are playing?

But what if those are times that God is calling me to stop and think about what I’ve just sung?  What if He wants me to reflect on the words I’ve just proclaimed and ask myself, “Do I believe what I just sang or are they just words?

Another confession . . . (since confession frees the soul!) Most of the time I find myself thinking about all the things I have to do when I get home. 

BUT what if God wants more from me? . . . What if those “Selah Moments” are worship opportunities, as well?  Occasions to worship and adore my Heavenly Father in the most intimate way possible – in my silence.

The next time you find yourself in church and the band, organ, or whatever musical instruments you might have, are playing a musical interlude . . . don’t let that Selah Moment slip by . . .  I challenge you to worship Him in your singing and in your silence!

 

Remember Me . . . God!

A friend of mine said goodbye to her daughter this week.   With a kiss and prayer, she watched her journey from this world into the next.  Trusting and believing that she has stepped into the presence of the One who called her HOME.

I can’t even fathom the pain her heart is in right now.  Only those who have traveled this road of heartache understand.   As I read Psalm forty-four this week, I wondered . . . Does this echo the cry of my friend’s heart?

Get up, GOD!  Are you going to sleep all day?  Wake up!  Don’t you care what happens to us?  Why do you bury your face in the pillow?  Why pretend things are just fine with us?  And here we are – flat on our faces in the dirt, held down with a boot on our necks.  Get up and come to our rescue.  If you love us so much, HELP US!  (Psalm 44.23-26 MSG)

Isn’t this brutal honesty refreshing? This author doesn’t mince words, he doesn’t skirt around the issue.  He tells God exactly what he thinks and how he feels. And the amazing thing is . . . God doesn’t strike him dead! 

Are you in agony over a difficulty in your life?  Do you wonder if God cares?  Do you feel like He has a boot to your neck?  I encourage you to do what this Psalmist did – tell HIM.  Plain and simple.  Call it like you see it and give voice to your pain.

What will happen?  I’m not sure. . .  But I do know this.  You will turn towards Him and not away.  You will seek Him not run from Him and you will be right where God wants you . . . In His presence.

Academics or Intimacy

 

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Growing up I was taught that God desired to have a relationship with me.  But my pursuit of that relationship looked more like a student in a classroom than an intimate connection with the lover of my soul.

 

Prayer became a list of what I needed and an expectation of God to answer.  Because after all, I reasoned, God says He will give us what we need if we ask, right?  It’s in the Bible somewhere?

 

I think many of us approach prayer as if God is our great Santa Claus in the sky and we’re disillusioned when He doesn’t come through for us.  We have pursued prayer not to hear from God or to form a bond with Him but to get what we need.

 

God wants so much more for our relationship with Him!  He sacrificed His only Son so that we could have a union with Him that is beyond all others!  God is here!  He has come near. 

 

 

 My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62.7-9  

 

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Will you pull up a chair and sit in His presence today?  Why not discover who He is for yourself and pour out your heart to Him?  He is waiting . . .

 

Lord, I confess that I have followed after You more to get what I want than to know You.  Change me.  Open my eyes.  I want to follow hard after You.  Show me how to live in relationship with You.  Amen.